It was a strange Christmas morning. “What did you get?” “Voucher!” “Where for? – right get down and spend that quick as they’re rumoured to be struggling!” Twice we had that but it would be rude to mention the stores concerned in this article but take it from me those vouchers were spent on Saturday!
I read on Saturday that four Essex Woolworth’s branches were to close on that day and Braintree was to be one of them. A sad day indeed for the town as Woolworths is one of the largest stores in the town centre and will be really difficult to fill. Braintree also has a Zavvi and today’s casualty Adams so it is likely that there will be some difficult holes to fill in our town centre. Local retail economies have taken a real pasting over recent years and the loss of these traditional names will do little encourage more people to shop in market towns. Braintree has always suffered at the hands of near neighbours Chelmsford and Colchester but they in turn are being hit by Lakeside and Bluewater. Apparently 6 out of 10 shoppers living in Mid and South Essex now travel to these venues for their shopping experience even when fuel prices were rapidly increasing.
Most retailers are under pressure. Shopping trends appear to be changing on a permanent basis and the purchasing power of the larger retailers has been dealing catastrophic blows to the smaller retailer for some time now. With the large players now hitting a brick wall and failing what does 2009 hold? Empty stores on the High Street will do nothing but help Internet shopping so stores need to put on an impressive show to bring in customers and make them spend.
The Government’s concern about deflation has them trying to encourage shoppers to spend by reducing interest rates to a 50 year low. But will it work? Certainly spending power is increased but concern over jobs and already burgeoning credit cards might discourage them in the short term. The next 6 weeks are traditionally quiet in industry and once the January sales draw to a close most retail businesses will be hoping for the support the Government has told the Banks to offer. Will it and can it be there – if businesses are losing money?
The Woolworth store in Braintree had been in Bank Street since 1929. Previously it had been the 8 bedroom house of Dr Harrison the one time coroner for East Essex. The house and garden stretched back all the way to what was Sandpit Lane and the corner of Quadrant stores opposite Stanley Tee’s office in Rayne Road. A massive site to develop and clearly an important national name when it first opened in the town. Over the years the business has had its ups and downs. No doubt pressure from Argos and Toys R Us placed the final nails in the coffin for this once great institution. As teenagers we surveyed the records on a regular basis as the options were Elvic in Fairfield Road (a musical instrument shop – now a Chinese Restaurant), Hannays in Bank Street and a shop opposite the fountain that sold record players too – now also a fast food takeaway. Then the arrival of Kellys and Parrot Records meant the need for Woolies departed and no visits for many years!
In many ways a bit like the ITunes store effect on stores like Zavvi; how can you compete with the 79p track and particularly in an era where the concept of the album is lost on many people. The days of reading lyrics inside a gatefold cover and listening to the whole album are of the past. As I say to my daughter, “the artist has spent many hours deciding which songs to include, which order to put them into, the concept of the cover art etc so please give it all a chance and not just the song the radio station is instructed to play.” It always meets with deaf ears of course and had we approached music in such a way would some of the great bands have had their longevity?
These national closures will have large repercussions upon town centres up and down the Country. In trying to retain a modern feel many towns have already changed their layouts leaving some businesses high and dry whilst putting others into a stronger position. Woolworths is a prime example of this. All of their stores would have been in a primary position at the time of opening but over years this may have changed. Braintree is such an example. Primary positions were the High Street and Bank Street which moved towards the Market Place in the 1970’s with the building of the town centre Tesco store and then towards George Yard in the late 1980’s when the new precinct was developed. Those stores previously situated near to the traditional primary positions may have seen their locations lose foot fall with these changes and in the most recent the Post Office has relocated moving foot fall away from Rayne Road towards New Street.
Where Woolworths retain a primary position and the size of the store deems it empty for some time will this cause confusion in towns of similar size to Braintree having repercussions on local independent retailers? I fear it will but sincerely hope that I am wrong. Relocation is not a suitable option for many small businesses but if the geography of the town you trade in changes what are your choices. Will the Government help cover such eventualities to allow businesses to continue?
Over 20 years I have seen a number of small retailers lose their business due to changes in trading practices. The sale of newspapers in supermarkets and garages was an unforgivable act that put paid too many a family’s fortunes where a significant investment had been made to buy the business. In all of this the supermarkets appear relatively unscathed unless they have invested too heavily into land on which they have debt. In fact if you look at the growth of these stores, having accounted for the majority of local fruit and vegetable businesses in the 1980’s, it has been into white goods, clothing, music, toys and other household items. Familiar items in terms of the names mentioned above that have entered administration. Might we see some Supermarkets increase their chains into some of the Woolworth stores?
What can be done? Well first I’m not sure I am right. I have a hunch, but your thoughts might provide a very different viewpoint. If I am correct Government needs to decide whether it thinks small independent retailers hold a place in the future. If they think it so, then some form of thought process is required to understand what this role should be and how far the supermarket chains should be allowed to develop in the future.
Let me conclude by saying the survival of the fittest is always important and no business has a divine right to survive. At the end of the day the owners or directors of every business have a responsibility to make sure that they have done everything in their power to give the business every chance of survival and success. If they have done this and customers do not materialise then if the business fails there can be no regrets. In the past some businesses have not been able to say they did absolutely everything. I think in 2009 without exception every board up and down the Country will need this as a motto for it promises to be a very difficult period indeed. Not just for retail but for us all.
As we approach the New Year, a look at the Barclays Premier League shows an extremely tight competition with Bolton in 11th and Stoke in 19th only three points apart. There have been a number of surprise results this season and a few unexpected successes. 
